PROJECT SUMMARY ? Pilot Project Program The overall goal of the pilot program of the University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research and Environmental Science (UK-CARES) is to provide new opportunities and resources to support highly innovative and collaborative research studies that will enhance the ability to identify and capitalize on emerging environmental issues. This will be accomplished by providing developmental and pilot funds for innovative, time-sensitive pilot studies that improve our understanding of the relationships among environmental exposures, human biology, and disease. Specifically, the goals of the UK-CARES Pilot Program are to: 1. Expand the research mission of UK-CARES by supporting new and novel areas of investigation in promising transdisciplinary areas of environmental health research and environmental medicine. 2. Provide research support for early career faculty to establish competitive research programs in environmental health science and environmental medicine. 3. Provide support for faculty to explore new and innovative directions representing a significant departure from ongoing funded research into the environmental health sciences discipline. 4. Enhance the interactions and expand the critical mass of investigators with expertise and experience in transdisciplinary, translational environmental health and environmental medicine research on the UK campus. 5. Foster opportunities that meet goals and research interest areas relevant to NIEHS. The pilot program will contribute to creating synergy across the proposed UK-CARES Projects, enhancing the educational component, as well as initiating interactions among UK-CARES investigators and other researchers at the University of Kentucky. The Pilot Program will actively facilitate research, support newly emerging technologies, and focus on the development of the next generation of environmental health scientists.